The Real Prince
by munchkinvampire
Summary: The Seigaku regulars never believed in fairy tales but what happens when they find out the truth about Ryoma. Magic, Demons, Mayhem. Slight Shounen-ai, don't read if don't like. Check better summary inside story. Pair undecided.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: **The Seigaku regulars never believed in fairy tales but what happens when they find out the truth about Ryoma. This is a story about how magic and demons infiltrate our human world and force a group of friends to choose what's really important to them and what's important for the world.

**Warning: **There will be some bad language, violence and innuendo. Possibly slight Yaoi, definite Shounen-ai but no smut. Don't actually have a plot set out yet, I just plan to go with the flow.

**A/N: **Okay, so this is my first Fanfic, please bear with me if it's not very good or if there are mistakes, gomen in advance, I'm still learning. If you don't understand anything please feel free to ask and I will try to answer by the time the next chapter's up. Umm... I know the first chapter is a little confusing but everything will be explained in later chapters (I hope!) so if you get lost, tell me so I can fix any mixups next time.

**Disclaimer: **I sadly do not own the rights to Prince of Tennis and I am not making money from this story.

That's about it so time to say enjoy the story!

* * *

**The Real Prince**

**Chapter One**

Echizen Ryoma was a very difficult person to wake up, this Karupin knew well. Today, however, Ryoma proved to be more stubborn than usual and Karupin was forced to dig out the pampered and hardly-ever-used claws to wake the young boy.

"Gah! Karupin... What the Hell?!"

Although his master shouted at him, Karupin could only purr happily, knowing that his job was done, that his master would never hit him and that as soon as Ryoma was gone he would have the whole bed to himself. Bliss.

For Ryoma the morning only meant getting ready for school and as winter was fast approaching it meant that soon there wouldn't even be any tennis for him to look forward to, the only thing in his opinion that made school worth going to.

He went for a quick shower and then back to his bedroom to put on his uniform. He looked in the mirror and felt a sudden tingle down his spine, a shivering premonition of what was to come. Finished dressing he collected his tennis gear and started to go downstairs when he remembered that Momo-senpai couldn't pick him up today. Looking at the clock in the hall he groaned realising he was going to be _very_ late to the early morning practice session.

Walking through the kitchen he ignored the western-style breakfast, grabbing only a piece of toast which he popped into his mouth and made his way to the front entrance to put his shoes on. Standing up to open the door, Ryoma was stopped by the gruff voice of his father calling out to him.

"Yo, boy... be careful today, alright?"

"Che, why so worried now baka Oyaji? You don't normally care!" Ryoma replied opening the door but pausing again at the uncharacteristic seriousness on his usually perverted father's face.

"I'm serious Ryoma! It's almost time for-"

"Aa, I know. I'll be careful." Ryoma cut in smiling sadly while exiting the house to stop the conversation going any further.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

On the way to school, Ryoma kept seeing dark shapes flit in and out of his peripheral vision and hearing the lightest crunches of someone or something sneaking across the leaf-strewn ground. Ryoma creased his brow in frustration and growled inwardly as more and more dark shapes fluttered around his walk to Seigaku. _What the hell? It's too early for this to happen! What's going on?_

It didn't get much better when he actually arrived at school. For one, he was given 30 laps to run by Tezuka-buchou for being late to practice and while running a shiver ran along his back as he sensed more than one set of eyes watching him. All through his lessons, whenever he looked out the window something always shifted in the trees and he heard invisible laughter. Ryoma was starting to become uneasy with the realization that he was being followed, no, scratch that, he was being stalked. But you know how you think something can't get any worse but then it inevitably does? Well, that happened while Ryoma and the rest of the tennis team were in afternoon practice.

As the tennis prodigy stepped out on the court to play Momo-senpai he couldn't help but notice that there seemed to be a lot more 'fans' surrounding the playing area. Echizen's eyes widened as he came eye-to-eye with one of the newcomers and recognised the pointy-eared red-head for what he really was. None of the other club members seemed to notice the boy who was staring avidly at a very worried Ryoma.

"Oi, Ryoma! Pay attention or you'll get hurt!"

"Huh?" Momo's loud voice had pulled the younger boy out of the staring contest and made him remember that he was supposed to have a practice match against the dunk-smash specialist.

"Sorry Senpai. Give it all you've got and you still won't beat me!" Echizen yelled back cheekily, sending a fake smirk to his opponent. He could still feel the strange boy staring at him.

"Cheeky bugger! I'll beat you for sure this time!" Momo shouted, a tick plaguing his forehead.

10 minutes later and Ryoma had won the game 6-3. Putting his treasured tennis racket in his bag, Ryoma groaned quietly, still feeling a set of eyes on his back. Turning around, the prodigy wasn't exactly surprised to see the red-head standing in the same place as though he hadn't moved throughout practice staring at him. Again, no-one seemed to see the pointy-eared boy, or so Ryoma thought...

"Oi Ryoma. Do you know that guy?" Momo-senpai's loud voice said from right behind the boy's left ear, scaring him half to death.

"Eh... You can see him?" Ryoma asked eyes wide in surprise.

"Saa... We all see him. How could we not when he's been goggling at our precious kouhai the whole of practice." Fuji replied, appearing from nowhere on the prodigy's right.

"Nya, could he be ochibi's boyfriend?" Eiji squealed 'glomping' Ryoma in the process.

"Eiji...senpai...oxygen... becoming... an issue!" Echizen gasped out turning blue. (A/N whoot for the buffy quote :P)

"Eiji! Let go, you're choking him!" Oishi cried, coming to Ryoma's rescue, as expected of the club's mother hen.

"Well, is he your boyfriend?" Momo asked again when Oishi had finally managed to drag Eiji-senpai away from the coughing boy.

"Fsssshhhh"

"Ii data."

"SHUT IT!" Ryoma yelled, flustered by the sudden interest in his so-called 'love life'. "No, he's not my boyfriend. I don't have a boyfriend. I've never even seen him before."

_In fact, how can the regulars see him? He's obviously isn't in a human form because the other members can't see him so how is this even possible?_

"Saa...Does that mean that we still have a chance, Ryo-chan?" Fuji asked, beautiful cerulean eyes actually open as a delighted look shined across his almost feminine face.

"Wha..." Echizen looked astounded at his senpai-tachi. All of them had the same look on their face as Fuji standing in front of him. Even Tezuka-buchou, who hadn't looked interested in the conversation, seemed to be relieved by Ryoma's denial of a relationship.

_What the heck is going on? First I'm being followed, then that guy who is __**still **__staring at me and now this? I'm really not in the mood for all of my senpai-tachi to tease me like this! Even for buchou to go this far.... Did they really expect me to fall for such a ludicrous trick?_

Blushing deeply and furrowing his brow, Ryoma opened his mouth to shout at his teammates when the wrinkled hand of Ryuuzaki-sensei squeezed his left shoulder.

"Practice has now ended, why are all of you not getting changed?"

"Nya, we're just talking to ochibi ab-"

"You should know better than to tease another teammate. Now go and get changed before..." Ryuuzaki-sensei stopped mid-sentence when she caught sight of the same boy who'd stared at Ryoma throughout practice. Her eyes twitched and a black aura started to ooze from her person as she too recognised the kid for what he truly was.

"Sensei?" Tezuka asked, the first thing he'd said since the end of training.

"Minna go change, Ryoma-kun, please come with me. " The coach ordered, still glaring daggers at the boy near the gate.

Ryoma noticed the pressure on his shoulder increase slightly as the old woman twiddled the fingers on her left hand in circles. He knew he wasn't the only one to see the movement, Tezuka and Fuji's sharp eyes narrowed (A/N even more?!) as they caught the gesture. Unlike him, they didn't know the reason behind the movement or the fact that Ryuuzaki-sensei was silently chanting spell words at the same time. Jutting her fingers forward to release the power that she had built up the boy ran off, quick as a flash, as though he was on fire.

"Hai Sensei." Ryoma said smirking.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

After watching Ryuuzaki-sensei walk Echizen away, Tezuka made sure that the old woman's order was carried out by threatening the team with laps. Changing into his school uniform the tennis captain wondered why the coach had waved her hand in concentric circles and then walked Ryoma towards her office.

"Saa... Tezuka, why do you think Ryuuzaki-sensei wanted to speak with Ryo-chan?"

The taller boy turned to face the brunette about to answer when he realized he couldn't. He didn't know why Ryuuzaki-sensei would want to talk to only one person on the team and in private at that. Fuji seemed to know that his captain couldn't give him an answer because he just smiled innocently and went back to changing.

_I'll go talk to her and see what she wanted with our Ryoma. I'll also ask her about her hand movement.... Wait! Our__Ryoma? When did it become __**our**__ Ryoma? Hell, when did it become Ryoma?_

Forcibly shutting his locker door and leaving the nearly empty changing rooms, Tezuka didn't see the tensai's evil grin which said he had managed to manipulate the captain exactly as planned. Humming lightly to himself, Fuji Syuusuke followed his buchou out of the room and towards the tennis coach's office.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Weaving through the silent and empty corridors, the buchou and tensai stopped at the raised voices echoing from one of the rooms nearby. Recognising the heated voices as those of the two people they were looking for the two stood still listening closely to a conversation they soon realised they shouldn't have heard.

"...didn't do anything to grab their attention!" The prodigy shot back venomously.

"Well you must have done something! Why else would they send scouts here?" Ryuuzaki-sensei nearly screamed, just as deadly as her student.

"I thought you and Oyaji set this place up so that even if I did do anything they wouldn't, couldn't find me here!"

Tezuka and Fuji looked at each other, startled, thinking the same thing. _What's going on? When did Ryoma learn how to hiss? And why is sensei allowing him to talk to her like that?_

"I was assured that the only time I could be gotten to was on the way to and from Seigaku! If I'd have known otherwise I would've insisted on home schooling!" Ryoma continued, using words that unknowingly cut his senpai's hearts to ribbons.

"Don't say things you don't mean! Your father and I told you the risks and about how the shield around the school wasn't foolproof. You agreed to come here because of tennis, not because of the safety net that was provided for you." Ryuuzaki-sensei seemed to have calmed down slightly and at her words so did Ryoma.

"Of course I didn't mean it. It's just... I just don't know what to do." Tezuka and Fuji were shocked and pained when they heard Ryoma speak. They could very clearly hear the tears and fear in his voice.

"I love being at Seigaku. I... I love playing tennis here. I-I even l-l-love my senpai-tachi. Everything here i-is so imp-portant to me and I can't bear to l-lose it. Why d-do I have t-to g-go?"

"Oh, Prince, come here." The two in the hallway heard the old woman choking back her own tears as she took their kouhai in her arms. Their hearts were breaking listening to the racking sobs of their beloved when their sensei started speaking again.

"I'm sorry, Prince. But you will have to go soon. They may have started the search too early but that doesn't change the fact that it's nearly time. You must take up the mantle as destined. You are our only hope for-"

"Yadda, I'm too young for it, I'm not ready. What will happen if I become one of them? According to your shield, I'm already incapable of controlling it. What if I turn out to be like my predecessor and –" Ryoma was babbling, even his senpai-tachi knew he was babbling and they hadn't a clue what the conversation meant.

"You will not be like him! You are better than him, Prince. Stronger than him. You cannot and will not fail where he did." Ryuuzaki-sensei interrupted. Fuji frowned. _That's the third time sensei's called Ryo-chan 'Prince'. She never calls him that during training so why now?_

"But you can't be sure!" Ryoma thundered. Suddenly the room was filled with the echoing beep of a phone alarm. "Shit! I'm late... Oh, Kami-sama, it's already getting dark. I have to go Sumire-san."

Ryoma burst from the room just as Tezuka and Fuji managed to slip unnoticed into an empty classroom. Barely a second later the office door slammed open as Ryuuzaki-sensei skidded (A/N yes, actually skidded) in the now empty hallway.

"God damn it, Prince. It's too dangerous for you to go out at night. I better call Nanjiroh." The tennis coach sighed when she didn't see Echizen.

"Saa... Why did you call Ryo-chan 'Prince' sensei?" Ryuuzaki-sensei turned to face the two tennis players who had snuck out of the classroom they'd been hiding in. The old woman gasped wondering how much they had heard.

"More importantly, why is it too dangerous for Ryoma to go out at night, sensei?" The tennis coach saw the worry flash across both boys' faces when Tezuka asked her that question. She sighed.

"It's not for me to tell you the reason. You'll have to ask him." Ryuuzaki Sumire walked back to her office, the boy's followed her. "In regards to your other question... all I can say is that Ryoma isn't just the Prince of tennis."

Inside the office, the old woman picked up the phone barely amused at the astonished and confused look on the faces of Seigaku's top players. Pressing the first speed dial, Ryuuzaki-sensei waited patiently for the other end to pick up.

"Moshi-moshi."

"Nanjiroh, it's me. We have a problem."

"What is it old woman. Has that idiot son done something?" Came the gruff reply from the Samurai.

"He's only just left the school, without a guard or shield spell to protect him."

"Shit, I better go look for him before the darkness comes."

"That's not the only problem we have..." Looking up at the two standing by her desk she sighed. Why hadn't she felt it before? Why did it take Ryoma to be in trouble that she would finally notice?

Ryoma had been right; it wasn't he who had weakened the shield. The whole time, she and Nanjiroh had assumed that there would be only one Magic wielder at the school other than the tennis coach. They never anticipated the existence of a further eight.

* * *

Dun Dun Dun...

A/N: whoa not that bad considering by the time I finished writing this I've been up for 27 hours straight 0_o

So, who exactly is Ryoma and why doesn't he want to be like his predecessor? Why is it dangerous at night? Who or what is the pointy-eared stranger? And how come the other regulars have finally revealed their powers?

Please Read and Review, tell me what worked? What didn't work? How to improve? Glaring mistakes? Please let me know so I can write better stories for you to enjoy.

Arigatou,

munchkin-chan


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary:** The Seigaku regulars never believed in fairy tales but what happens when they find out the truth about Ryoma. This is a story about how magic and demons infiltrate our human world and force a group of friends to choose what's really important to them and what's important for the world.

**Warning:** There will be some bad language, violence and innuendo. Possibly slight Yaoi, definite Shounen-ai but no smut. Probable OOCness and UK English. Don't actually have a plot set out yet, I just plan to go with the flow.

**A/N:** OMG, 11 reviews for chapter one! O.O So very happy XD Okay, so here's the second chapter for all you lovely people. I'm gonna try and keep updates within a week but it will be difficult because I'm an impossible procrastinator and pitiful insomniac T-T Umm...some guys had questions and stuff so I'll answer them here 'cos I haven't got anywhere else to do so heh...

**Khelc-sul Renai: **Hmm...interesting idea, we'll see soon XD hehe, I didn't expect Karupin's PoV to go down so well, thanks!

**rebekahalana: **Heh, thanks for the concern, I was much more awake writing this chapter, enjoy!

**Frog-kun: **Yeah, I only noticed when I finished uploading that the pace was WAY too fast, gomen T-T Over the next few chapters there are gonna be flashbacks which should make up for it (hopefully they will also answer your first question to XD) Thanks for the review!

**and SilverWhiteDragon: **Thanks for the reviews and for noticing that the pair isn't decided yet. At the end of this chapter I'll ask people to vote for their favourite pairing so I'll take your ideas as suggestions for possible pairs XD Thanks and enjoy!

**To everyone else who reviewed, thank you so much! Enjoy the latest chapter!**

**Disclaimer:** I sadly do not own the rights to Prince of Tennis and I am not making money from this story.

That's about it so time to say enjoy the story!

* * *

**The Real Prince**

**Chapter Two**

Ryoma was scared. Of course, he would never admit to that fact out loud and certainly never in the presence of his senpai-tachi because it would ruin his cocky self-assured front. The young prodigy growled in frustration as he walked through the emptying streets, the lamps only just starting to illuminate with their feeble glow. Another thing he hated about the nearing winter was that it became darker earlier and for very good reasons Echizen was afraid of the dark.

An icy breeze whipped around the thinking boy making his golden eyes widen in shock. It wasn't a natural wind; he could taste the coppery magic directing the air, black magic. _Oh shit. _Suddenly the bulbs in the nearest lampposts exploded, glass showering down on Ryoma while plunging the area into pitch blackness. Several people squealed in fear and Ryoma grunted in pain as crystal shards cut crimson ribbons across his face and arms.

Something bumped into the prodigy, a bundle of coarse feathers and sharp claws. Another and another, in no time at all, Ryoma was surrounded by the dry beat of wings. _Damn. Without the lights I can't see what these creatures are. I can't see to defeat them. _Ryoma cringed away from the brush of dusty wings as several feathers landed on his clothes and a few more cuts were opened on his arms and legs as hooked claws ripped through his taut flesh.

_If only I could see, shit! I can't even hear properly with all this flapping around my head...wait... _Ryoma's cat-like eyes widened further in terror. He suddenly remembered a conversation he had had with his father five years ago about a certain species of demon.

FLASHBACK

"_There are many types of demons, this you already know." Oyaji said while picking crumbs out of the old set of grey monk's robes he wore. "The type you'll learn about today are called Trainer Demons. Can you guess what they are?"_

"_Anou...Trainers are demons that use animals to attack their prey." An eight-year-old Ryoma said smugly._

"_Pffft. If you think that's all you'll get caught in their trap easily. Yes, Trainers use animals but it's not so much as to attack their target, more like to confuse them. By sending dogs, rats, snakes or birds after their intended the trainer can take advantage of the situation and pick their prey off without a struggle. Remember that, you might need it someday!" Nanjiroh said pompously, leading Ryoma to use 'Che!' for the very first time._

END FLASHBACK

Realisation struck like a bitch. The animals were just a distraction, a way to put him off the scent of the real attack. Ryoma wheeled around trying to spot his weakest point while trying to keep the bird-like creatures away from him. 'Why hadn't he taken the old man seriously?' kept flowing through his mind as he kept cursing the fact that the birds were so loud he couldn't hear anything other than the rustle of beating wings.

**Click...**

_Huh?! What the heck was that noise?! _It sounded like the noise long fingernails would make when the owner flicked them, a scratchy hit that chilled the bone.

**Click...Click...**

_Where is it coming from? It sounded from the front and less than a second later from behind! Oh, great! Panicking isn't gonna help right now Ryoma! Where the fu—_

Ryoma stopped thinking. Everything froze for the tennis prodigy as he felt the clammy pale hand stroke his right hip, long nails tearing both fabric and lithe body beneath it. Another hand came out in front of his face before falling slowly to Ryoma's left hand. He could feel and smell the rotten breath of the demon standing behind him. Ryoma twitched in disgust and then...

**SNAP!**

"AARGGGH!" Ryoma screamed long and loud, a confusing mixture of pain, fear and horror. Tears rolling down his cheeks, Echizen looked down at his left hand to see his wrist twisted and jutting in an impossible angle. The pain that shot through the whole of his arm was unbearable and yet Ryoma's first thought was that he wouldn't be able to play tennis anytime before the winter break.

"Who was that screaming just now?"

"What happened?"

"Oi! Someone find some flashlights, I can't see a bloody thing!"

At the sound of Ryoma screaming the noise of the ordinary civilians filtered through the fluttering beat surrounding his head; not that the boy noticed much due to his nervous system telling his brain to focus on the pain coming from his left side. Nor did he notice that there were less of the bird-like creatures bumping into him.

Ryoma gasped as the demon behind him turned his head slightly and licked both salty tears and metallic blood that ran down his cheek with a rough tongue. The hand on his hip moved to get a firmer grip on Ryoma's waist while the one that broke his wrist curled around his chest, nails piercing the muscle in his shoulder.

"Time to go, Prince." The demon growled into his ear as Ryoma's head felt like it was going to explode. Echizen screamed once again from the pain building in his head and the humiliation of being caught as the world slowly disappeared around them. The cry of pain and despair was suddenly cut off and in response the other occupants in the street shouted at one another, finally finding a box of flashlights in a nearby store.

The light from high wattage torches spread across the street searching for the screamer, stopping short at the sight of a dropped white Fila cap, several jet black feathers and.... Several small pools of red blood, still liquid if the glisten from the flashlights were anything to go by.

Whoever had screamed had disappeared with the darkness.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Fuji walked down the path to Seigaku as the sun started to rise having declined a ride from his sister. Fuji always found that when he needed to concentrate on something walking by himself was always beneficial to his thinking process. His current musings involved a certain conversation that the school tennis coach, Tezuka and he had been privy to the day before.

FLASHBACK

"_That's not the only problem we have..." Looking up at the two standing by her desk she sighed before continuing the phone call._

"_It seems that Ryoma-kun isn't the only person at the school who could manage to break the shield. Unwittingly, the regulars have been growing and that's what caused the barrier to shatter...I don't think so...no...Yes, that would probably be best. Ja." Ryuuzaki-sensei put the phone and was silent for several minutes. It was Tezuka who broke the silence first._

"_Sensei, what do you mean Ryoma is more than just the Prince of tennis?" Fuji heard the only-just-discernable hint of confusion that escaped through the captain's normally clipped calm tone._

"_Iie, I've agreed with Echizen Nanjiroh to tell you and the other regulars with him and Ryoma tomorrow. It's easier that way." The old woman added as she saw Tezuka open his mouth to argue._

"_Saa...You said Ryo-chan was in danger. We should go look for him." Fuji said. At his words, both he and Tezuka moved towards the door._

"_Stop right there. If Ryoma-kun is in trouble you wouldn't be able to do anything to help him. In fact, the only thing you'll likely to do is get yourselves killed. Nanjiroh has already started looking for him anyway." The strict voice that commanded them stopped the two boys before they got very far._

"_What do you expect us to do then?" Both asked at the same time._

"_The best thing you can do is to go home and rest. Tomorrow you will be educated by the Samurai, Ryoma and I. The mental drain you and the others will go through will be extremely difficult." Ryuuzaki-sensei answered tiredly. Once again, Tezuka and Fuji tried to leave when the old woman asked one final question that caused them to pause in wonderment._

"_Oh, by the way, when did you two start calling Echizen 'Ryoma' and 'Ryo-chan'?"_

END FLASHBACK

This last question was what Syuusuke was currently debating although, truth be told, any answer he came up with confused him even more. Really, he had started to call Ryoma 'Ryo-chan' just to annoy the boy as his sadistic nature dictated but that only worked when said in front of the kid's face. What did it mean when he referred to Echizen by his nickname when the person in question wasn't even there?

Of course, Ryoma had always intrigued the tensai on the courts, coming up with different strategies against his opponents and then effectively carrying them out was what first caught Fuji's eye. Then as he started watching the prodigy even closer, Syuusuke started to notice how the boy, although feminine in looks and build, was really much stronger than they'd ever thought but in a way he was also weak and Fuji couldn't help but want to protect that weakness, no, not weakness. It was innocence. He didn't know what from but he still felt like he needed to help the boy keep his naivety.

Lost in thought, Fuji hadn't even realised that he was already in the school grounds. Not until he heard the raised voices of two people arguing did he look up. When he did finally decide to grant the world permission to view his blue eyes he found himself looking at a dishevelled Ryuuzaki-sensei and a man wearing grey monk's robes yelling at the top of their voices.

"FUJIKO!" was the only warning he got before the red-headed Kikumaru Eiji 'glomped' him from behind.

"Hah! Eiji-senpai, do you have a death wish or something? First Echizen and now Fuji-senpai, don't you know that's a dangerous swap?" Momo laughed.

"Demo, Ochibi isn't here yet, nya!"

"Saa...I don't really mind that much Eiji-kun." Fuji said dangerously. Eiji's eyes widened and he immediately apologised for his attack. When Fuji used an honorific while talking to Eiji it was his signal that he had gone too far.

Turning back to the sight of the two adults, Syuusuke noted that they had stopped bickering as soon as the other regulars revealed their arrival. Sighing, he looked to Tezuka who was walking towards them and he realised that the man must be Echizen Nanjiroh. Tezuka was probably going over to ask if Ryo-chan had got home safely last night and Fuji discovered that the thought made him slightly jealous. Why didn't he have the nerve to go and ask the same thing? Ryuuzaki-sensei waved all of them over and Fuji followed his teammates to the place their captain, coach and the relative stranger were waiting.

"Today I decided to cancel morning practice without buchou's permission although I did discuss the reason with him and Fuji-kun last night." That got everyone interested. "This is Echizen Nanjiroh, Ryoma-kun's father. He'll be helping me talk to you about a subject that might be quite difficult for you to comprehend at first."

"Before we talk to you I need to make an announcement. Last night Ryoma didn't come home. After exploring the route he usually takes I found hints suggesting that he was kidnapped." Nanjiroh said with sad eyes.

_Kidnapped! Ryo-chan...No! _Fuji felt as though the old man had just delivered a crunching blow. Because he and Kunimitsu had hesitated and not gone looking for him their pillar was taken. Because he'd been alone he was now missing.

"By who?" Tezuka asked, voice shaking in anger and regret. Syuusuke looked at him and saw the stoic buchou's fists clenching and again felt slight annoyance.

"We're not entirely sure. The point is-" Ryuuzaki started.

"What do you mean you're not sure? You must have some idea!" Momo shouted, jolting all of them out of their individual dazes.

"We do have an idea but we need to educate you about Ryoma and where he really comes from before we discuss what we're going to do to get him back." Nanjiroh said quietly but firmly, drawing the regulars' attention to him.

"Where Ryo-chan really comes from?" Fuji whispered, shock evidently etched upon his unmasked face.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Tezuka barely heard the soft voice that emanated from the tensai and the captain was surprised by the fact that Fuji had dropped his mask. _Is he really that worried about Ryoma? _It wasn't until he felt his eye twitching that he realized he was irritated by the blatant affection shown in that face. Then in an instant the feeling was gone as Nanjiroh's words finally sunk in and Tezuka fell back into the role of buchou.

"What don't we know about Ryoma?" Kunimitsu asked, harsher than he'd meant to.

"The question is what do **you** know about the brat?" Nanjiroh shot back fiercely, his delayed parental instinct kicking in.

"Nanjiroh!"

"Aa...gomen, I'm just worried." He apologised, taking everyone aback at his uncharacteristic behaviour. "It would, perhaps, be better to talk in private." He added while turning and walking away with Ryuuzaki-sensei.

"Yosh, let's go."

They followed the older pair through the school corridors, Tezuka idly noting the comparison between last night's empty hush to today's bustling noise. Tezuka growled inwardly. _What gave them the right to be loud when Ryoma was gone? _Judging from the dirty looks and icy daggers shooting from the regulars' faces they were all thinking the same as he. Even Kaidoh, who didn't seem to give damn about Echizen, hissed viciously at a nearby freshman when asked where Ryoma was.

When they finally reached Ryuuzaki-sensei's office no one spoke for a while leading Kunimitsu to believe that the adults were deciding not to tell them what was really going on. Tezuka pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration and was about to speak up when Nanjiroh started talking, finally.

"Ryoma is from another world called Arecia. It is a place where magic and mythical creatures exist."

A few minutes followed this pronouncement and then the players fell about laughing, except for Tezuka, Fuji and strangely Kawamura whose eyes widened in...recognition? Now that was an interesting development.

"Haha, that was funny Echizen-san. And your face is so serious as well, heh..." Momo chuckled although he stopped quickly when he saw the angry glares from both Ryuuzaki-sensei and the Samurai.

"I'm being serious. This is part of what you need to know before you go and get him back."

"Us? Why did you say us? Wouldn't it be better to call the police for this kinda thing?" Oishi fretted, nervous about everything and nothing at the same time as usual.

"The police would be useless against the people who took the brat. You guys are the only ones with a chance of getting him back." Nanjiroh replied seemingly bored by the constant questioning.

"Echizen-san, it seems that you know who took Echizen because you said the police would be useless." Inui cut in before anyone could distract the man with more questions.

"I didn't say I knew _who_ took him; I meant I knew _what_ took him. Completely different thing."

"What took our ochibi then, nya?" Eiji asked sounding as frustrated as the bouncy acrobat could ever manage (which isn't much).

"Darkness." Everyone turned around to find Kawamura staring at the beige phone with a look of mixed horror and shyness upon his face.

"Eh?!"

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Oh boy, I can just feel the evil eye radiating from everyone. Gomenasai! I just couldn't resist a cliffhanger XD

A/N: Okay, see ya guys next week for chapter three and yes, more questions will be answered. However, I have a major favour to ask of youse. Could you please, please vote for the main pair for this story. and SilverWhiteDragon already gave a few suggsetions but I would like other people to have a say as well.

So far there are 2 mentions of TezuxFujixRyo, 1 FujixRyo, 1 TezuxFuji and that's just two people talking! Anyway, would love to hear your take on it. Vote through reviews (hehe) or maybe I'll manage to figure out how to put a poll up for votes there. I'm not gonna make any final decisions until I start writing the 4th chapter so you've got, what, 2 weeks, maybe.

Please Read and Review!

Arigatou,

munchkin-chan

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